Why setting New Year's Resolutions can be DANGEROUS!

Last year, I read this book, "EntreLeadership" by Dave Ramsey. And recently,  I've picked it back up.

It can get tricky trying to read an actual paperback book (wait, they still make those?). I'm more of an audiobook/podcasts girl. But I'm loving reading 10 pages a day because Dave's info is GOLDEN. Every day I'm highlighting and writing notes in the margin.

How I doubled my income WHILE pregnant!

I get to question this a lot, "Laura, how in the world can I be a Beachbody coach when I'm pregnant? How can I build my business and move forward when I am pregnant?" 

Let me tell you something, I am a silver linings kind of girl. I feel like with this opportunity we have the strength and power to stay fit and healthy.

We can still build our business forward!

In my experience, my business DOUBLED during my pregnancy because it was a whole new group of ladies that I was able to inspire.


It's funny how some women don't want to take care of themselves UNTIL they start growing a little human. It's not about having a 6-pack or being perfect, it's about being YOU. Being exactly where you are and sharing your experience. Such a cool thing!

So if you want to be home with your little one, don't wait until you are postpartum (because let's be honest, that's when the real craziness begins!)

Christmas Hacks that will save you time

These days, I am obsessed with looking at articles about Christmas Hacks.

What is a Christmas Hack?? Better yet, what is a LIFE HACK??

life·hack ˈlīfˌhak/ . noun: life hack "a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way."

I'm pro-saving money & time. Count me in.

These are 5 Christmas Hacks that blew my mind:

1. CHRISTMAS CARD TREE: If you have been getting christmas cards from everybody, don't crowd your mantle of fridge. Use them for decorations! You can string up ribbon and clip the cards on the wall. Even ask your kids to help you!

My job has given me 5 FREE vacations!

I hesitated talking about this because I feel that saying, "yea, we've been on 7 vacations on 20 months" can sound snooty.

I'm far from snooty. I'm a simple girl who wears hand-me-down clothes and drives used cars. However, I've always wanted to be RICH in adventure and travel.

5 Things Beachbody Coaches Should Do Before The New Year

I was asked recently by the Beachbody Tampa Market Council to speak at a local training event. My answer... um, YES!! To meet face-to-face with other excited & passionate coaches just fills my cup. I love giving everyone hugs and just doing life together. This community really welcomes me and I never feel alone!

My favorite holiday treat with 70 super food ingredients!

Sooo..... you know that one time you bought raw Goji Berries from that random sketch website?? <---- oh wait, that was me 2 years ago. 

When I was pregnant with Leland, I "heard" about this magical berry. TRUTH is, I'm not one to follow the newest trends.

BUT, when I read one of the MANY benefits were "REDUCING CELLULITE" ...I plugged in my CC hahaha

Come to find out, it was EXPENSIVE and gross. Then I ordered chia seeds. Then I started blending them with spinach and flax seed. Then I dreaded mornings because of my make-shift morning concoction.

Why I gave up my husband for lent

Yes, you read this right. I gave my husband up 
for lent.

However, I cannot led you to believe it was WHILE we were married. That would be silly, right? This was before we were married.
 
We had just started dating actually!

I mean, I am not even catholic and it wasn't intentionally around the time of lent. It just so happened to be around February and ended around Easter. So, I suppose it aligned perfectly.

Here is the deal. We've been together for 10 years now (look at our baby faces in these pictures ha ha). We met each other at college in 2004. At the time, I was in a 4 year relationship with my high school sweetheart. Nick informed me that he told his cousin he met "the girl of his dreams but she was practically married."

{I know, its sappy. It gets worse.#sorrynotsorry }

Don't get me wrong... when I met Nick, he was CUUUUTE (cute pronounced in two syllables). Long shaggy haired college guy who played guitar. Yep. 

But I had my blinders on because I was in my comfort zone. I mean, I had dated this other guy for FOUR YEARS. And why change something that doesn't feel broken? hmmm... 

50 Ways to DE-STRESS

Even though I am my own boss, I can get behind and stressed just like the best of em'. I laugh often at my unrealistic list of daily to-dos. We all only have 24 hours in a day.

The best way I know how to DE-STRESS is to take action. I'm a huge advocate of TAKING ACTION.

My Last First Kiss

Well, here I am. The anticipated blog. You know that nervous gut feeling when you are clicking up a roller coaster. That feeling when you are leaning in for that first kiss. Or that feeling when you write your first blog? 

You put yourself out there. You trust the steep fall and seatbelt of a roller coaster will hold you down. You trust that you don’t look awkward leaning in with smooch lips and stinky breath. You trust that the eyes that fall on your blog will enjoy it and return. 

The launch of my blog = my last first kiss

My husband and I met at the University of West Georgia in August 2004. He was a good looking, shaggy haired, guitar player who loved Jesus. As a matter of fact, I met a lot of cute boys that year, but none of them played it cool like my Nicholas did.  He had my attention. 

We finally came clean about our crushing while on the phone in February 2005.  I laid on the top bunk in my dorm room with my phone awkwardly placed to my ear so the charger would remain in tact. Whispering to avoid waking my roommate or dealing with the embarrassment of exchanging sweet nothings on the phone. 

So there it was, it was confirmed. We were smitten. 

Now through a series of months and stories for another day, we had several almost first kisses. Moments that could have been romantic and perfect – but ruined by random interruptions or fear of it being too soon.  The pressure to have this last first kiss mirror a movie scene took me captive. The lighting, the words, the mood, the outfit, the smells, the sounds… how could I dare brag to my girlfriends about this magical moment if it was not perfect in every way?

This internal battle created a year and a half of “it’s not quite right” moments. Out of respect for me, Nicholas did in fact wait 17 months before our first kiss. Call me old school. 

The pressure to imitate an Academy Award winning movie was unbearable. Did you know the lights do not fade automatically when lips touch? Or that soft music doesn’t start magically playing when love is sealed with a kiss? Me neither.

All this hype got my dizzy. I finally had the PERFECT plan. I threw out all the rules. Ignored the Disney fairytale movie script I rehearsed in my head. I decided that enough was enough. Today was the day. Drove to his house, strutted to his room upstairs… and BAM!  I laid one on him. You could not recreate that moment. In that frumpy, stinky morning bedroom of a college boy… we kissed. 

And you know what? It took my breath away. That moment and surprise on his face could have won all the Academy Awards ☺ 

The rest is history.

Am I starting a blog about making out with my husband? NO! But I do feel that same nervous, anxious feeling about the setting, the mood, the lighting, the words in which to start my blog. Forever grateful to my patient husband, I am reminded that there is no better time than NOW. So here I am jumping in!

To my last first kiss. To my last first blog entry. Cut the ribbon and let’s go. 

What you can expect: 

Honesty and openness from yours truly 

Fitness program reviews & advice

Nutrition guidance and suggestions 

Why I choose to love fast & live slow

Constant reminder that Jesus is my true source of joy

My journey from corporate world to stay at home mom 

I love sharing my life. Not because it is anything extraordinarily great. But because I truly believe living in community (even if it is virtual community) can bring value to our lives.

Learn from me and let me learn from you! Enjoy! 

How I Meal Plan in 3 Easy Steps!

CONFESSION: I used to avoid meal planning.

 I saw all these pinterest moms coming up with cute coordinated 100-course meals. Well, this momma has about 30 minutes to knock out a healthy meal. And my prep should be even simpler.

 ENTER my 1-2-3 Meal Planning tips.

 I am not a chef. I don't ninja chop vegetables and toss them over my head then catch them.

 But I am meal plan. Because I keep it simple (and affordable).

I got a chalk board from one a fancy pants store... you may have heard of it... it's called, "Ross" {sarcasm}. I hung it in my kitchen. I like to get cute and write love notes to myself at the top (like, "Mom is awesome!" or "Thanks mom for all our yummy meals!").

 Meal Planning in 3 easy steps.

 (1) Meat
 (2) Vegetable
 (3) Carb

 Ideas for the healthy proteins: grilled chicken, baked chicken, crock pot shredded chicken, hamburgers w/o the bun, meatballs, bratwurst, roast. Ideas for the healthy vegetables: greens. greens. more greens. But for real, we love kale, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, zoodles. Ideas for the healthy carbs: sweet potatoes, rice, roasted red potatoes, organic mac-n-cheese, butternut squash, quinoa noodle.


 .... are you thinking that's it? Yep. I cook more than what's listed above but if you are wanting simple, this is your ticket. Three items to plan and make each night.

 I know I can fuel my body with the right nutrition if I have a vegetable at every meal and drink my favorite superfood shake. I drink Shakeology every single day. It has 70+ vitamins that I know are 100% natural and DELISH. It's quick. It's cheap. It can taste like a chocolate shake or strawberry smoothie.

 Eating right can be simple & within the budget! Feel free to get creative, feed your family, make them happy, stay within your budget & then you can even ask your family to help you cook!

 As an online health & fitness coach, I like to provide extra TLC to my customers. I have created a Facebook group just for folks on my email list. It's called "Her Whole Kitchen".











 If you want to join that group for more tips on cooking simple, within budget and recipes that are healthy -- then create your FREE Team Beachbody account here on my team.

Join my secret group: HER WHOLE KITCHEN.

xoxo

Are your friends holding you back?

I am asked often my TOP TIPS on success. 

I mean, just 6 years ago I was making 1/3 of what I am making now. Working 3x MORE hours. Traveling away from my family (not by choice) during anniversaries and birthdays. 

It wasn't how I imagined my life would roll out. 

I do believe there is a UNIVERSAL mentality of people who rise to the occasion (versus people who halt their success because of self-limiting beliefs). 

This has been on my mind a lot lately and I wanted to address it.

If you are new to Beachbody Coaching (or to a new career opportunity in general) and you really want to hit your goals. You need to realize, you must jump on the personal growth train. 

And sometimes when you are becoming more focused, more self-disciplined, more productive, more responsible... it makes your friends feel a bit uncomfortable. They don't like the way you make them feel anymore. 

It's about time you either make NEW friends or be brave enough to be a black sheep. You need to find people who lift you up.

SO YOU HAVE A CHOICE!!

(1) You either halt your forward motion in attempts to let your friends catch up (unlikely) 
(2) You keep growing and digging towards success 

You decide. You either back pedal or pedal forward. 

You can INVITE your friends to come with you. You can INVITE your friends to make healthier choices themselves. You can INVITE your friends to start working out too. But don't let any snarky comments get you discouraged. Successful people don't have time for that. 

I love this quote. Lions don't lose sleep over the opinion of sheep. 

I am not one who needs to stand up and ROAR. I do not think i am better than anyone else. Not in the least. However, I refuse to stop my momentum just because my direct circle of friends are intimidated by my ambition. 

You will soon realize - you become who you surround yourself with. Have you heard of the CRAB MENTALITY?? 

I wanted to talk about this "Crab Mentality". 

"Crab mentality, sometimes referred to as crabs in the bucket, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase, "if I can't have it, neither can you."[1] The metaphor refers to a bucket or pot of crabs. Individually, the crabs could easily escape from the pot, but instead they grab at each other in a useless "king of the hill" competition which prevents any from escaping and ensures their collective demise.[2][3][4] The analogy in human behavior is claimed to be that members of a group will attempt to negate or diminish the importance of any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of envy, spite,conspiracy, or competitive feelings, to halt their progress." (Wikipedia: Crab Mentality) 

If you are surrounded by let's say 5 people, who aren't lifting you up, I'm gonna challenge you to take your goals, your life and your future seriously. Life is too short & you don't need to be bullied or feel bad or insecure about yourself.

Ask yourself, What kind of friend am I? Am I a friend who is lifting people up or pushing people down? Am I bullying people? Am I celebrating their success or am I being bitter because they're being successful? 

I have made a career out of helping people get out of their bucket. I am an online health & fitness coach. However, my responsibilities are FAR GREATER than just helping people lose weight. I am a business mentor who has helped hundreds of women launch online business's. Many of them are now earning full-time incomes.

If you need someone in your life to show you how to climb out of your "bucket," I'd love to help. Give me some more information about yourself and I will be in touch very soon (fill out form below)

SUMMARY: Don't be crabs. Don't be a bully. You have the choice to do incredible things!

xoxo

Fill out my online form.

Use Wufoo integrations and get your data to your favorite apps.